Rest in Peace

Hi friends ... it is with much sadness that I write to you today. My grandpa passed away on Monday after suffering for many years with health problems. He has gone to be with the Lord, and I am trying to find peace in that. There was a tradition of him singing at my female cousins weddings, and I am so sad that he will not be able to sing at my wedding some day. I will miss him so much until we are reunited in Heaven. On a lighter note ... my Dad came to Seattle this weekend for work, and I was able to take him to a Chinese vegan restaurant. We ordered 2 types of soup and 2 entrees. The food was delightful and filling and I had plenty of leftovers. It was called Tea Pot Restaurant in Kirkland, WA. Some other good news ... I was officially approved to transfer to SoCal on July 1st. This is such a blessing because I have been stressing out about it for weeks. I know it is the right decision for me, and I can't wait to start my life down there. I hope you made a conscious effort to be healthy in some way today. I made vegan chili for one of my best friends to show her how yummy being a vegan can be. Let me know if you want the recipe :)

Day Nineteen

Good evening! It's been a few days since I've blogged. I've had a lot on my mind lately, but I haven't staggared from my new lifestyle. I am continuing to feel healthy and well. Today, I went to the big International Women's Day celebration Accenture puts on every year. It was really fun and I felt so empowered after I left. Unfortunately, they didn't accomidate my new lifestyle :-\ For lunch I ate a lot of steamed veggies and a small piece of baked salmon. I skipped dessert, all meats, and the mac and cheese. It was one of the hardest days so far because usually I would be all over free food at events. But I proved to myself that I can handle the temptation of 50+ women stuffing themselves with the free food.  I went to the gym tonight and did a nice long cardio workout on multiple machines, and finished with abs and stretching. I really enjoy going to the gym on Friday nights, because I'm usually not in the mood to go out and be around people because I spend my whole week being around people. It's a great way for me to end the work week and launch into the weekend. This weekend I have the pleasure of helping my Dad at a large convention in Bellevue where he will be showcasing the budgeting software he created a few years ago. I was involved with some of the testing of this program, so I'm excited to see it on the market. I hope to take him to a vegan or vegetarian restaurant on the East side for dinner tomorrow night and show him how much my diet has changed over the past ~3 weeks. Another thing happening this weekend is I'm starting a series of spring cleaning events to evaluate all of my "stuff" and donate things I don't need to Value Village. I'm lucky to live in Lake City, because there are so many opportunities to help those who live within a mile or so of me. For example, today I was at the post office mailing a rather large package, and a nice homeless man was sitting outside opening the door for people. I really appreciated this gesture because I had my hands full. It makes me feel so much better about giving him money versus the people who stand on street corners begging. I will definitely miss Lake City after I move, even if it is one of the most dangerous parts of the city. Welp, it's time for me to sleep! Good night all :) 

Day Sixteen

Good evening friends. I am on my third week of this life change, and I'm feeling really great. I've been losing weight at a steady pace and I've felt healthier than I ever have. My friend told me how to cook tofu today, so I will be incorporating that into some of my meals to make sure I'm getting enough protein. I've only had tofu once, and it was fried and in my pad thai. Any suggestions for ways to cook tofu would be much appreciated :) I have a lot to do tomorrow, so this will be a short post. But I wanted to let everyone know that I'm still going strong and I hope all of my friends who gave up something for Lent (or are eating healthier) are succeeding. It's not an easy task to change your eating habits, and I applaud anyone who is staying strong and fighting through the cravings. I know I was craving some chicken wings tonight for sure!

Day Fourteen

Well, I'm back in Seattle now. It was a lovely sunny weekend in San Francisco. I ate at 2 amazing Vegan restaurants! I highly recommend them to anyone who's going to the bay area anytime soon. 1. Herbivore - Justin took me here for lunch on Friday and it was fantastic. Totally reasonable prices for lunches (<$10). I ordered a "Philly Cheese Steak" sandwich.  All of the ingredients were vegan, but it tasted better than a regular philly cheese steak sandwich! I was amazed. I think I need to find more cafe-style vegan restaurants in Seattle so I can enjoy not bringing my lunch to work every day. 2. Gracias Madre - Justin, his girlfriend, and a few Accenture friends took me to this restaurant. How fantastic that I can still eat Mexican food and stick to my vegan diet! I definitely need to find a vegan Mexican restaurant in Seattle.  We all ordered sangria for our drink (YUMMY ... fresh fruit and delicious tempranillo red wine).  For my entree, I ordered the Mole Enchiladas. It was made with black beans, tomato sauce, cashew cheese, and onion. SUPER delicious. It tasted as delicious as regular meat enchiladas. There was also steamed kale on the side, and it was pretty tasty as well. I'm still getting used to eating kale :) We also went to a few normal restaurants, and I was amazed at how many vegetarian options they had. I still had to get pretty creative with some of my meals, but all in all I stuck to my diet and was always fed well. I also had the chance to go to Athleta! It's the Lululemon of the GAP family stores. I purchased the "pack anywhere" dress that I've been wanting for over a year, and it's a pretty periwinkle color. I'm excited to wear it on my cruise in April. I am also going to buy a swimsuit from them, but I need to order it online because they didn't have my size in the colors I wanted. Athleta is only located in California and in a few other major cities, so I'm really excited I got to go. Finally, Today officially marks 2 weeks since I started my "no meat, no dairy, no dessert" lifestyle, and I'm so excited for what's to come. Every day I'm learning more and more about eating healthy and taking advantage of my time at the gym. I hope you all take a second to think about your next meal, and try to cut out meat, dairy, and dessert just for one meal. I promise you will feel so much better afterwards :) 

Day Eleven

Hi friends! I'm writing to you from San Francisco, one of the vegan capitals of the world. I'm so excited to explore the restaurants and stores down here with my good friend Justin and his girlfriend Lauren. It will be a nice change to eat out instead of making my own food (as much as I love cooking, it's nice to have someone else cook for you). Last night I had a really good workout, but I realized that since I've been losing weight so rapidly from decreasing my caloric intake, I might have to decrease my workouts once I reach my goal weight.  This is actually a good thing because I spend 4 to 5 nights at the gym. I will be able to see my friends more, be more involved at the lake house, and be less guilty about not spending every free moment working out.  But I'm not at that point yet, so I will continue to work hard until I reach my goal weight. Earlier tonight when I was at SeaTac, I learned the hard truth that not everyone understands/supports the vegan lifestyle. I asked multiple airport employees if there were any vegan restaurants or options in the food area, and they either looked at me with blank stares or told me to get a bagel from the coffee shop. This was very disheartening because usually Seattlites are on top of things like this. So I had to settle for some mass produced sushi ... yuck. I'm still feeling really great (minus a few light headed moments at the gym last night) and I'm so thankful for that. I've heard horror stories from friends/family who have made the switch to being vegetarian/vegan and suffered a lot of side effects. It's just more affirmation that this is what I'm supposed to do to be healthy from the inside, out. Enjoy your Friday everyone, and I will check in with y'all on Saturday! <3 

Day Nine

Happy Tuesday, friends! Tonight my friend and I made vegan pizzas. What a delicious meal! The main ingredients are artichokes and olives, with other veggie toppings. Check out the recipe at this link. Last night I went to Yogalates (yoga + pilates) at 24 Hour Fitness. Wow, what a workout! I've done regular yoga and hot yoga before, but never Yogalates. I felt so relaxed and rejuvenated after the class. I decided to switch to Yogalates on Mondays instead of Cycling Boot Camp so I can stretch and elongate my muscles. The teacher was pretty good, but she went through the motions too fast. I got my blood test results back today. Besides having slightly high cholesterol, I am very healthy. My doctor wants me to start taking Vitamin D supplements since Seattle lacks in that department. I will go back before my cruise in April for follow up blood tests to track my progress. Also, I'm going to blog every other night from now on. It will give me a chance to share more recipes and highlights from my journey in bigger posts. I hope everyone is ready for leap day tomorrow! :)

Day Seven

I watched "Food, Inc." today. All I can say is WOW.

Unlike "Forks Over Knives" (that discusses specific food choices and our health), "Food, Inc." discusses where our food comes from and how genetically altered most of it is. It made me realize that I might not ever eat meat again, and I would be ok with that. I'd rather be healthy and eat fresh foods than eat meat from animals that are corn-fed and can't even walk. I highly recommend that movie to anyone who is doubting what I am doing - it will change your life.

On a lighter note ... I feel very confident going into this week. I made a batch of veggie fried rice and steamed broccoli/cauliflower for my lunch tomorrow. I have a few new meal ideas that I will share with you the day I make them :)

Also, I'm heading down to San Francisco this coming weekend to see my friends from Accenture training almost a year and a half ago. I'm really looking forward to reconnecting with them and experiencing all the vegan options SF has to offer. If anyone had any recommendations of places to go while I'm down there, please reach out and let me know.

Day Six

Good evening friends! I'm writing to you from Whidbey Island :) I'm spending the night at my friend's cabin for a birthday party. There is a lot of meat, dairy, and sweets here, but I've resisted it all! I brought my own salad and veggies for dinner, and I have microwavable rice for breakfast. It's nice to have supportive friends who understand how important this change is for me.

I had a nice workout this morning - 50 minutes of cardio in the morning after I woke up. Working out in the morning is nice because you get it done for the day, but there's no way I could do it on weekdays.

So far I've lost 5 lbs this week, and I hope to continue losing weight at this rate until I'm down to my goal weight.   Have a great night everyone, and stay safe this weekend! :)

Day Five

Today was a rough day. I learned the hard lesson of how ignorant people can be towards people who weren't born in America.

But in regards to food ... I had a delicious rice bowl at Chipotle for lunch! Brown rice, black beans, pico de gallo, and corn salsa. Very filling and delicious.

I was definitely feeling the dessert cravings tonight. I know that cheating with what I eat will only hurt me in the end, so I am staying strong.  But man, I could go for some chocolate right now ;)

Thank goodness it's Friday night - I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow morning!

Day Four

Good evening friends! Today has been a great day.  I woke up full of energy and started my day with some oatmeal. For lunch, I had leftover lentil/kale soup, and sushi for dinner.

I discovered today that my caloric intake is pretty low compared to how much I'm working out. I'm eating anywhere between 600-1000 cals a day, and burning the same amount at the gym in the evenings.  I might have to up my daily caloric intake if my weight begins dropping too rapidly.  So far I've lost about a pound a day since I've started, but I will continue to monitor my progress so I don't risk my health. I haven't felt weak or unusually tired, so I'm happy about that.

At the gym tonight I did a bunch of 'moves' on the TRX machine. If you've never seen or used this, you should definitely check it out. You hold on to straps hanging from a big metal A-frame, and use your body weight to do anything from push-ups, squats, pull ups, and lunges. Here's what a typical TRX looks like:

Tomorrow is Friday - the start to my first weekend on this diet. I'm confident that I have the will power not to give in to late night junk food. I've enjoyed sharing my new lifestyle with coworkers, family, and friends, and I hope to inspire at least one person to analyze their own lifestyle and become healthy from the inside, out too :)

Day Three

Today I discovered the awesome-ness of cumin! A former coworker gave me a recipe for lentil/kale/onion/tomato soup, and I added a bunch of cumin and it tasted like beef soup! I'm glad I can get the enjoyment of beef flavoring without the actual meat. I made enough soup for 3 meals so I'm excited to enjoy it again tomorrow.

I also had my physical and blood tests today with Dr. Pam. She is a very young, yet knowledgable preventitive medicine doctor. She examined me and took blood. I should hear back in a few days about the results. She also encouraged me to have heart tests done since my mom had a heart attack at age 50 with no warning signs. Unfortunately these tests are not covered by insurance so I would have to pay a couple hundred dollars out of pocket. I'll decide once I get the results from the basic blood tests.

Since Monday I've lost 2 lbs already! I feel really great, I'm full of energy, and I am never staving like I thought I would be on this diet. Thank you to all my family and friends who are encouraging me and giving me recipe ideas :)

Day Two

I've made it two days so far! Today was a challenge because of all of the candy and treats people bring in at work. I was strong and resisted them all :) I ate fruit when I had a sugar craving instead.

My lunch consisted of butternut squash ravioli and almond milk. It was my first time trying both of these and I was pleasantly surprised. I will definitely be buying more for my future lunches.

I went to Cedar's with a good friend for dinner and chose the vegetable curry with basmati rice. Definitely not the same as chicken curry, but it was still yummy. Maybe next time I'll branch out and try a new Indian vegetarian option. My appetite is shrinking because I'm eating more filling foods, which is really good for me considering I'm usually hungry 24/7.

Also, I donated blood today and made my 8th overall donation, earning me a 1 gallon pin. I've been wanting this pin since I was a child and my Girl Scout leader had them on her vest.

Tomorrow I go in for blood tests and a physical so I can accurately measure my progress from the inside.

Day One

Good evening, friends! Today is Day One of my new lifestyle! This evening I went to Cycling Boot Camp at 24 Hour Fitness, and after I went to QFC and purchased $55 worth of fresh fruits and veggies.  The first day is always the easiest, and I'm ready to hit this head on.  I threw away all of the dairy and desserts in my fridge and cupboards to reduce temptation to cheat. 

On Wednesday, I am having a full physical done including blood tests, body measurements, blood pressure, etc. I will go in again before my cruise on April 1st to see how much progress I've made.

Friends, please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.  This is a drastic lifestyle change and I need all of the support and encouragement I can get.